Rye Sourdough Pancakes

Rye has a reputation of difficult to bake with, because of its low gluten content and high content of strong vegetable gum that makes it sticky when made into dough. I think that those qualities also serve in its advantage since when you use it in baking – you create food that’s very nutrient dense, low in gluten and phytic acid, plus full of vitamins and minerals not found in any other grains. Check out this post about why I love rye.

100% WHOLE GRAIN RYE FLOUR

These pancakes are made with 100% rye flour, as opposed to some rye and some wheat in most of the recipes that I came across. I use flour from the rye berries that I mill at home, but you can use any rye flour you can find, just look for one that’s not refined. I use this KoMo Mio Grain Mill. 

RYE IS A HISTORIC STAPLE IN RUSSIA

In the old Russia (by old I don’t mean Soviet times, but any time between the 11th and 19th century), it was common for peasants and craftsmen to have breakfast of only rye bread and water, and work fatigue-free all day. Folks believed that if you eat wheat before work – you are not much of a worker, you get sleepy and heavy. Wheat breads and pies were for dinners and special occasions — ‘there is food for enjoyment, and there is food for strength’.

RYE IS VERY HEALTHY

Rye contains a lot of phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin B1. It’s also remarkable because of the ratio of magnesium to calcium, which is 4:1. Magnesium is important because it is essential for calcium absorption but most people don’t get nearly enough. Calcium, on the other hand, is consumed in excess but when it’s not able to be properly absorbed by our bodies – it gets deposited along the joints causing arthritis, within arteries leading to atherosclerosis, etc.

RYE IS HARDY = LESS GENETIC MODIFICATION

Rye is extremely hardy, and can withstand harsh weather and pests without human intervention. That’s probably why it was so widely available in Russia and the Scandinavian countries for many centuries. That is also why it is a good reason to include it to your diet, if you are not avoiding grains, – it has not been subjected to genetic hybridization and treatment by glyphosate, like regular wheat. The use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in RoundUp, causes birth defects in animals at very low doses (source). In fact, doses a lot smaller than anything that gets used in wheat spraying. This chemical is also responsible for the skyrocketing rates of celiac disease and cancer (source).

RYE IS EASIER TO DIGEST

Another reason to eat sourdough rye bread is because the amount of phytate (an acid in grains that binds to important minerals making them unavailable for human digestion) goes way down after even a short fermentation period and exponentially decreases with longer fermentation (source). Heat treatment, just basic oven baking, also reduces the phytic acid content in rye to 15% of the original amount (source), a much more dramatic reduction that in any other grains. Basically, if overconsumption of phytic acid is a concern to you – getting familiar with rye should definitely be on your list.

HOW I USE RYE

I get 25 pound bags of rye grain from Great River Organic Milling, they sell it through Amazon. I use it for making bread kvass, sourdough Borodinsky bread, basic rye sourdough, rye cookies and rye sourdough cake.

I mill the grains with this mill (the motor is sold separately). It’s slow and doesn’t heat up the grain.

UPDATE 2019: I upgraded my mill to this KoMo Mio Grain Mill, which has become my favorite kitchen tool. It is very fast, much quieter than the Victorio mill and looks great in the kitchen. The best part is it stays on my counter rather than me having to mount it when I need to use it.

SAVORY OR SWEET

My kids eat these pancakes with honey or maple syrup, and I love them with garlic herb raw sour cream. I just add pressed garlic to taste, herbs like dill and chives, and some salt and pepper. 

HOW TO MAKE RYE SOURDOUGH PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup kefir (how to make kefir; or find at most grocery stores by yogurt)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2-3 tablespoons active, recently fed sourdough starter (here is how I make rye starter)
• 1.5 cups whole rye flour (I grind my own from rye berries using KoMo Mio Grain Mill; or try to find flour that says ‘whole’ or ‘unrefined’)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk together kefir, water and starter, until starter is completely dissolved in the liquid.
In 1/4 cup increments, add rye flour, mixing well after each addition.
Cover tightly, and allow to ferment 8-12 hours, or until very bubbly. It’s best to use a glass bowl because the bubbles in rye batter don’t form on the surface, and it’s convenient to be able to see the inside of your batter.
When ready to make pancakes, start preheating the griddle or pan.
Mix egg with sugar and salt; add to the rye batter; mix well.
Add baking soda; mix well again. Allow to rest for 5 minutes for soda to react with the batter (you will see the batter rising and softening quite a bit). Adding baking soda also tones down the sour taste of the pancakes.
Pour batter on a hot griddle. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup, but the size of the pancakes is up to you, so use what you’d like.
As soon as the top looks like it’s starting to form a film and is no longer dripping-runny – flip the pancakes, and cook until golden.
If you don’t plan to serve them immediately, place the pancakes in an oven at 250ºF, to prevent them from getting soggy.
Serve with sour cream mixed with a bit of pressed garlic, herbs like dill and chives, salt and pepper; or with butter and honey for a sweeter version.

If you love rye, check out this 100% rye sourdough bread ↓

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Print Recipe

2 from 1 vote

Sourdough Rye Pancakes

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Fermentation12 hours hrs

Servings: 12

Calories: 68kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup kefir
• 1/2 cup water
• 2-3 tablespoons active sourdough starter
• 1.5 cups whole ground rye flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

• Whisk together kefir, water and starter, until starter is completely dissolved in the liquid.
• In 1/4 cup increments, add rye flour, mixing well after each addition.
• Cover tightly, and allow to ferment 8-12 hours, or until very bubbly. It's best to use a glass bowl because the bubbles in rye batter don't form on the surface, and it's convenient to be able to see the inside of your batter.
• When ready to make pancakes, start preheating the griddle or pan.
• Mix egg with sugar and salt; add to the rye batter; mix well.
• Add baking soda; mix well again. Allow to rest for 5 minutes for soda to react with the batter (you will see the batter rising and softening quite a bit). Adding baking soda also tones down the sour taste of the pancakes.
• Pour batter on a hot griddle. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup, but the size of the pancakes is up to you, so use what you'd like. 
• As soon as the top looks like it's starting to form a film and is no longer dripping-runny – flip the pancakes, and cook until golden. If you don't plan to serve them immediately, place the pancakes in an oven at 250ºF, to prevent them from getting soggy.
• Serve with sour cream mixed with a bit of pressed garlic, herbs like dill and chives, salt and pepper; or with butter and honey for a sweeter version.

Nutrition

Calories: 68kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 83mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 61IU | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg